ACL tear sidelines UFC featherweight Conor McGregor for 10 months

For now, all the talk was for naught for Conor McGregor, as will be his hope to fight on the UFC’s Manchester card in October.

McGregor suffered a tear to his anterior cruciate ligament, a strain to his medial collateral ligament and a meniscal tear of his posterior horn, according to UFC President Dana White, who late Thursday delivered the news to “FOX Sports Live.” McGregor, White said, is expected to be on the shelf for upwards of 10 months.

After the fight, McGregor lamented his performance, saying he had hoped to finish Holloway, but that he felt his knee pop in the second round, and that forced him into a takedown-heavy attack, working ground-and-pound from on top rather than staying on his feet.

At the post-event news conference, White said he planned to have McGregor see the UFC’s doctor. That visit took place on Thursday, and the news was not good.

In the past 24 hours, McGregor, from Ireland, began making waves in a video shoot with FOX Sports in which he was asked to play word association with some of the UFC’s top featherweights – ultimately fighters that may be standing across the octagon from him. He called former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar and former title challenger Chad Mendes “bantamweights,” said current champ Jose Aldo just “plays it safe,” said Dustin Poirier is a “peahead” and said he didn’t know who Erik Koch was. Then he took to Twitter to insult former lightweight challenger Diego Sanchez.

And though none of the insults were true challenges, McGregor certainly was letting it be known he has no problem talking the talk.

On MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) on Thursday, McGregor said he figured he’d only need three or four weeks to heal – and that he hoped he’d be ready to go by Oct. 26 when the UFC touches down in Manchester, England – not far from his native Ireland.

“If I can’t do something with my knee, I’ll find something else to do,” he said. “I will adapt to it; I will still work. If (I was out) about three or four weeks out, that would be five or six weeks, which is plenty of time. So I’m holding out hope that I’ll be on that Manchester card.”

But with the doctor’s Thursday findings, and White’s announcement, that hope is gone. The 10-month prognosis would have the 25-year-old out until early next summer.

McGregor took the UFC by storm in April when he made his debut with a 67-second TKO of Marcus Brimage in Sweden. He picked up a “Knockout of the Night” bonus for his effort, then quickly started campaigning for a spot on the UFC Fight Night 26 card in Boston – which has a heavy Irish population.

On Saturday’s card, despite being on the prelims against Holloway, McGregor’s full walkout was aired on FOX Sports 1 – and he got the lights-out treatment, which essentially never happens for a fighter not on the main card.

Prior to signing with the UFC earlier this year, McGregor had an eight-fight win streak that included winning Cage Warriors’ featherweight title in June 2012, then its lightweight title on New Year’s Eve – both in Dublin. But he never got a chance to defend either belt after he signed with the UFC.

His win over Holloway on Saturday was the first time he had been to the third round in his career. Prior to that, all 13 of his wins had come by stoppage with 12 knockouts or TKOs and one submission.

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